Media Clipping — July 8, 2004, The Daily News

N.S. collects garbage bragging rights

By Andrea MacDonald

It’s probably not a motto that will end up on our licence plates, but Bluenosers do trash better than just about anyone.

A new study shows Nova Scotia’s recycling and composting saves at least $31 million per year, or $33 for every Nova Scotian, compared with the old landfill system. The report came out yesterday from Genuine Progress Index (GPI) Atlantic, a non-profit research group in Halifax.

GPI calls Nova Scotia a world leader in solid-waste management, at least by its measure. Delegates from around the globe have travelled here in recent years to see how we treat our milk cartons and dirty needles.

The two-year study takes into account such items as time spent sorting waste, lower greenhouse-gas emissions and costs for curbside pickups and landfilling.

GPI president Ron Colman says the savings could be as much as $167 million per year, using higher estimates.

Dumping everything in the landfill, as Nova Scotians did until the mid-‘80s, actually costs $24 million a year less than the current system. GPI argues that number is misleading, however, because it excludes a wide range of social and environmental costs and benefits.

For example, the old Sackville dump had leachate problems, rodents, foul odours and gas, which had environmental and health costs. Nearby residents were eventually compensated with $10.4 million.

The GPI report found that, per capita, Nova Scotia disposes of 39 per cent less waste than the Canadian average. HRM has the highest waste-diversion rate of any municipality in Canada and is twice the average.

The same report says the new system reduces air pollution and energy consumption.

Nova Scotia has reduced the number of dumps to 18 from 40, and the province is down to one incinerator.

"This is a very, very big success story for Nova Scotia, but much more can be done," said Sally Walker, the report’s main author. She said Nova Scotians have to work on how much garbage they produce in the first place.

The province is also lagging behind in the handling of hazardous household waste and waste from construction and demolition sites.

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